Air conditioner



June 10, 1958 L. E. LEMMON AIR CONDITIONER Filed Aug. 25, 1954 INVENToR. .50a/'5 LEMA/10M NlE/l i i .rroAM/E AIR coNDrrIoNER Louis E. Lemmon, Norwalk, Calif. Application August 23, 1954, serial 10.451,661

4 claims. (ci. 18s-so) This invention relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner Ydesigned for use in moving vehicles, whereby the air is gathered in a hood and directed into the cooler and then forced out into the vehicle compartment by blowers, and it has among its salient objects:

To provide in connection with an air conditioner of the character referred to, a pivoted hood or air scoop to gather the air as the vehicle is moving and which, under increased speed will be moved sutciently by the force of the air into said hood that it will open a circuit to the blower motor and thus automatically shut off the air being discharged into the compartment of the vehicle;

To provide in connection with an air conditioner, an air gathering hood, the rearward wall of which is spaced slightly from the body of the conditioner, whereby particles of solid matter entering the hood with the air, will be shunted out through the space across the rear of the hood and not into the body of the conditioner and thence to the cooling pad through which the air is moved;

To provide an air conditioner or cooler, with an improved form of cooling pad, with water pipe therein, and removable from the housing with a minimum of difficulty for cleaning or replacement;

To provide a construction of housing with simple means therein for placing a iilter for the water pumped from the bottom of the housing to the cooling pad.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be notedpfrom the following more detailed description of one embodiment of the invention, taken with the accompanying sheet of drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an air conditioner embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view therethrough, taken on line 2-2 on Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 3 3, Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the cooling pad' with water pipe therein and the holding brackets and the bafe members thereunder.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the case or housing is shown of box-like form, preferably made of sheet metal, as indicated and of rectangular form in cross section, as seen in Fig. 3.

The top of said case is Aprovided with a cover plate 6, having its edges 6 bent down to form a cap tit over the front part of the open top. The rear portion of the top is open, and is covered by a forwardly opening air scoop or hood 7, which iits over the opening, as indicated, and extends rearwardly and downwardly slightly beyond the rear wall of the case, as at 8, whereby to provide an opening across the rearmost portion of the hood, whereby solid particles entering the hood, as indicated by the arrows, will strike the inside of the hood and be shunted down through the open space 8, as indicated. Said scoop or hood is pivoted at its open side, at the opposite sides thereof, as at 9, 9, with small springs, as 10, for holding vit yieldingly in normal position. The front lower side of l United States Patent lO 2,838,130 Patented June 10, 1958 ice n said hood has a `forwardly extended finger 11, for actuating a micro switch 12, connected with the motor circuit (not shown) for opening the circuit to the motor when said micro switch is opened by the back tilting of said hood under suicient pressure of air entering said hood to overcomeV the tension of the springs 10.

Secured to the inner opposite sides of the case are two channel brackets, as 13, 13, opening toward each other, and adapted to receive a U-shaped screen holding member 14 for a cooling pad 15 therein, as seen in Figs. 2 and 4. In the upper part of this pad 15, is a water pipe 16, having perforations, as 16', therein for feeding water to the pad, to percolate downwardly therein. Said pipe is connected with a supply pipe 17, on the outside of the case vor housing, and which is connected at its lower end with a pump 18, said pump being connected through the bottom of the case, as at 19, for drawing water from the lower part of said case, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, and pumping it to the pipe in the pad.

In the lower corner of the case, where said pump 18 is connected, is a triangular shaped corner wall 20, with a hole 20 therethrough, and over which hole a lter material, as 20, is placed to filter the water moving into the pump and up to the pad pipe 16, before referred to.

In the bottom of the case or housing, as a reservoir for water, are two crossed baille members, as 21 and 22, slitted in their middles, crosswise thereof, so as to be interlocked in crossed position, as seen in Fig. 4. One of said baffle members, 22, has one end tapered, as at 22, to it the corner triangular wall 20, when said baffle members are set down into the bottom of said case, as seen in Fig. 2.

The upper edges ofV said baffle members are bent over to an angle to form supporting flanges, as 21 and 22', and in their middle top portions is left a space, as 23, to

p receive a floor member 24 having a channel 24 formed therein and which occupies saidA space 23. Into this channel 24' ts the lower edge of the U-shaped screen holding member 14, with the cooling pad 15 therein, as shown. Said channel 24 has drain holes, as 24 in its bottom for draining water therein into the bottom of the case.

The air entering the hood 7, is directed downwardly through the open4 top, and thence is drawn through the `cooling pad member and into the motor-driven blowers 25 and 26, in the case or housing, at the opposite side of the cooling pad, said blowers having their two discharge openings 25 and 26 out through the wall of the case or housing, as indicated in Figs. l and 2.

When the vehicle with which my conditioner is related is being driven at a low or moderate speed, the hood 7 is maintained in the position shown in Fig. 1 under the action of the springs 10 and at this time the finger 11 contacts the switch 12 to maintain the latter closed to energize the motor-driven blowers 25 and 26. Thus, at this time when only a small volume of air is being rammed into the hood and the case, the blowers function to draw air into the case, through the wet pad 15 and to discharge the ltered and cooled air from the case into the interior compartment of the vehicle. Now, when the vehicle travels at a speed where a large volume of air is rammed into the casing for cooling and delivery to the compartment, the hood 7 is tilted backwardly to a slight extent, due to the force of the air impinging thereagainst. When this occurs, the finger 11 disengages the switch 12 to open the circuit and thus deenergize the blowers 25 and 26. However, the air still being rammed into the case through the curved hood is forced through the pad 15 into the casings of the blowers and between the blades of the now stationary impellers to be discharged therethrough, into the compartment.

I do not limit the invention to the details of construction and arrangement here shown for explanatory purposes, except as I may be limited lby the hereto appended claims forming a part of this application.

I claim;

' 1. An air conditioner applicable to a vehicle including, a box-like case having an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening therein, a cooling pad within the case to occur between said openings, a motor driven fan in the case adjacent the outlet opening and adapted to draw air through the inlet opening and the pad and discharging it through the outlet opening, a switch controlling the operation of the fan, `and a forwardly disposed air scoop pivotally carried by the case to project therefrom and to direct air into the case through the inlet opening when the vehicle is moving and having a part adapted to normally engage and hold the said switch closed, the said part of the air scoop being adapted to shift out of engagement with and open the switch when the scoop is pivoted by the air impinging thereon.

2. An air conditioner applicable to a vehicle including, 'a box-like case having an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening therein, a cooling pad within the case to occur between said openings, a motor driven fan in the case adjacent the outlet opening and adapted to draw air through the inlet opening and the cooling pad and discharge it through the outlet opening, a switch controlling the operation of the fan, an air scoop pivotally carried by the case to project laterally therefrom and having a forwardly disposed curved wall overlying the inlet opening and adapted to direct air into the case through the inlet opening when the vehicle is moving and having a part to engage the switch, and spring means between the case and the scoop to normally yieldingly urging the scoop forwardly to maintain the said part of the scoop engaged with the switch and to maintain the switch closed, the said part ofthe scoop being adapted to be shifted out of engagement with and to open the switch when the scoop is pivoted rearwardly by the air impinging thereon and against the action of the spring means. Y

` 3. An air conditioner applicable to a vehicle including, a box-like case having an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening therein, `a water evaporative cooling pad within the case to .occur between said openings, a motor driven fan in the case adjacent the outlet opening and adapted to draw air through the inlet opening and the cooling pad and discharge it through the outlet opening, a .switch controlling the operation of the fan, a forwardly disposed air scoop pivotally carried by the case to project laterally therefrom and overlie the inlet opening therein and adapted to direct air into the case through the inlet opening when the vehicle is moving and having a part to engage the switch, spring means between the case and the scoop to normally yieldingly urging the scoop forwardly and maintain the said part of the scoop engaged with the switch and to maintain the switch closed, the said part of the scoop being `adapted to be shifted out of engagement with and to open the switch when the scoop is pivoted rearwardly by the air impinging thereon and against the action of the spring means, and water storage and circulating means in the case and adapted to maintain the cooling pad moist.

4. An air conditioner applicable to a vehicle including, a box-like case with front, rear and side walls and top and bottom walls, an air inlet opening in the top wall adjacent the rear wall, and an air outlet opening in the front wall, a cooling pad within the case to occur between the inlet and outlet openings, a motor driven fan unit in the case adjacent the outlet opening and adapted to normally draw air through the inlet opening and cooling pad and discharge it through the outlet opening, a switch controlling the operation of the fan unit, a forwardly opening air scoop pivotally carried by the case to overlie the inlet opening to direct air into the case when the vehicle is moving and having a part to engage the switch, spring means between the case and the scoop to normally yieldingly maintain the said part engaged with the switch to hold the switch closed, the said part being adapted to be shifted out of engagement with and to open the switch when the scoop is pivoted rearwardly by the air impinging thereon and against the action of the spring means, the rearmost portion of the scoop being spaced from and overlying the rear wall of the case to establish an outlet for solid matter carriedY by the air entering the scoop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 843,413 McKeen Feb. 5, 1907 1,678,172 Tohtz et al. July 24, 1928 2,237,497 Munford Apr. 8, 1941 2,296,350 Johnson Sept. 22, 1942 2,379,932 Schoeplin et al. July 10, 1945 2,391,558 -Essick Dec. 25, 1945 2,431,389 Fleisher Nov. 25, 1947 2,631,023 Bailey Mar. 10, 1953 2,700,927 Jordan Feb. l, 1955 

